Two Trains Running: Whiteness and Racism in Psychotherapy
Presented by Carlton Green, Ph.D.
Friday, September 9th, 2022, 1PM-4:15PM (one 15 minute break)
UofD Audion Room on the Star Campus, 100 Discovery Blvd., Newark, DE 19713
This workshop is also offered virtually. It will be recorded and available for home study purchase.
Three (3) Continuing Education Credits
Please see the Program Brochure for full details.
Registration closed September 8th. If you are interested in registering please email delpsychology@gmail.com
This workshop will meet the criteria for the newly mandated equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) licensing requirement.
Program Description
Addressing race and racism in mental health practice likely triggers racial anxiety (Bradley et al, 2019, Godsil & Richardson, 2017) for clinicians of all backgrounds. Because practitioners often receive minimal training for treating race-related stress and harm (Hemmings & Evans, 2018), many may believe that it is not in their purview to meaningfully conceptualize racial factors as pertinent to psychological distress or well-being. Yet, scholars have reported that racism costs all of us at the individual (e.g., Hargons et al., 2022; Mosley et al, 2021; Poteat & Spanierman, 2008; Spanierman et al, 2008) and societal levels (Jones, 2002; McGhee, 2021), even in the helping professions (e.g., Grzanka, Gonzalez, & Spanierman, 2019).
Of course, the psychotherapist has responsibility for providing racially-responsive treatment that addresses the racial harm experienced by their clients. Additionally, the therapist is equally responsible for monitoring and mitigating the impact of Whiteness on treatment (Hardy, 2022). Yet, practitioners may be more likely to attune to racism without being accountable to the impact of Whiteness on the counseling relationship and the counselor. This session will offer opportunities to understand how Whiteness and White racial identity development (Helms, 1984, 1995) inform the counseling experience for clinicians, which is pertinent to all clinicians given that training occurs in a White racialized context (Cabrera, Franklin, & Watson, 2016; Liu, Liu, & Shin, 2022). Additionally, participants will be invited to begin identifying strategies for managing Whiteness in order to promote healing.
